If you know something is bad for you, why can’t you just stop? About 70% of smokers say they would like to stop. Drug and alcohol abusers (滥用者) struggle to give up the bad habits that hurt their bodies and destroy families and friendships. And many of us have unhealthy weight that we could lose if only we would eat right and exercise more. So why don’t we do it?
Some scientists have been searching for answers. They’ve studied what happens in our brains as habits form. They’ve found answers to why bad habits, once formed, are so difficult to kick. And they’re developing ways to help us make the changes we’d like to make.
Habits are a normal part of life, and are often helpful. “ We wake up every morning, shower, comb our hair or brush our teeth without being aware of it,” Volkow says. We can drive along familiar routes without really thinking about the directions. “When behaviors become automatic(不加思索的), it gives us an advantage, because the brain does not have to perform the action on purpose.” Volkow says. This frees up our brains to focus on different things.
One way to kick bad habits is to focus on your unhealthy habits. Then try your best to stop them. For example, habits can be linked in our minds to certain places and activities. You could develop a plan, say, to avoid walking down the hall where there’s a candy machine. Try to avoid going places where you’ve usually smoked. Stay away from friends and situations linked to problem drinking or drug use.
Another helpful way is to replace unhealthy habits with new, healthy ones. “It doesn’t work for everyone,” Volkow says. “But certain groups of patients who have a history of taking a drug can do something else like running and it helps them stay away from drugs.”
1.In the first paragragh the writer mainly wants to tell us ______.
A. we should stop something bad for us
B. most smokers would like to stop smoking
C. bad habits are really difficult to give up
D. eating right and exercise more can lose weight
2.Scientists studied what happened in our brains as habits form in order to______.
A. find answers to solve the problem
B. find ways to form good habits
C. kick their own bad habits
D. help us see how bad habits form
3. If you want to kick bad habits you’d better_______.
A. focus on them on purpose
B. go to the places linked with them
C. do something linked with them
D. ask your friends for help
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Breaking bad habits.
B. Forming good habits.
C. Finding reasons for bad habits
D. Replacing bad habits with good ones.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Earth Day has come and gone, but it’s a fact of daily life that 1.6 billion people around would have no electricity in their homes. Instead, most of them use wood, coal or even animal waste to heat and cook in their homes ,which also gives off greenhouse gases, causing indoor air pollution that kills 1.6million people a year, most of whom are children and women.
It’s not expected to improve much, and in Africa it’s becoming worse now. By 2030, when the Earth’s population will be likely to top 8billion, 1.3 billion people will still lack electricity. Of those, 700 million will be in Africa, and 490 million in South Asia.
Ghana, in West Africa, most of the northern half of the country lives without lights. As a result, three out of four Ghanans in the north are without electricity to refrigerate with and to cook with, to study with and to start businesses with. Like most others around the world in the same situation, these Ghanans use traditional fuels( wood, coal, animal waste) to meet their cooking needs.
What would electricity for everyone around the world cost? The International Energy Agency, which is made up of 28 member countries, figures it would run35 billion dollars a year from 2008 to 2030 to reach that.
The United Nations has been busy with the issue, organizing a meeting on April 28 hosted by Secretary-General Ban Kimoon. ‘ Energy services are very important formeeting basic human needs, reducing poverty, creating and getting together wealth and keeping advances in social development,” He said in an announcement.
1.How many people still lack electricity in the world now?
A. 1.6 billion. B. 1.6 million
C. 1.3 billion D. 700 million
2. Why do many children and women die of indoor air pollution?
A. Because they would rather heat and cook with traditional fuels than with electricity.
B. Because of no electricity they have to use traditional fuels for heating and cooking.
C. Because wood, coal or animal waste does great harm to their health.
D. Because there are too many greenhouse gases from factories.
3.The underlined word “that” probably refer to______.
A. electricity for everyone B. 35 billion dollars a year
C. traditional fuels D. 28 member countries
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The United Nations is trying to solve the problem.
B. The basic human needs are reducing poverty.
C. Working together is a way to develop.
D. The basic needs for humans are energy services.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Pat came over from Ireland to England with his wife one year ago to find work. He got quite a good job with a building company, and as he did not drink or smoke, he saved up quite a lot of money.
His wife’s parents were still in Ireland, and one day she got a telegram saying that her mother was ill, so Pat gave her some money and she went to Ireland to see her mother.
After a week, Pat wanted to write a letter to her, but he could not read or write very well, so he went to his priest and asked him to do it for him. Pat told the priest what he wanted to say, and the priest wrote it down. After a few minutes Pat stopped, and the priest said,” Do you want to say more?”
“Only ,” ‘Please excuse the bad writing and spelling’,” Pat said.
1.Why did Pat come to Ireland?
A. To travel there. B. To save money.
C. To see his wife. D. To make money
2. Pat’s wife had to go back to Ireland _______.
A. to see her father B. to see his mother
C. to see her mother D. to see her husband
3. At the end of the letter Pat wanted his wife to excuse_______.
A. the priest’s bad writing and spelling
B. his own bad writing and spelling
C. both the priest’s and his own writing and spelling
D. neither the priest’s nor his own writing and spelling
4.Who really made a mistake in the story?
A. Pat. B. The priest. C. Pat’s wife. D. None of them.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Have you ever noticed how much the number twelve is used? A ruler that is a foot long has twelve inches. A yardstick(尺码) has three times twelves inches, or thirty-six inches.
On a canlender you will see twelve months in each year. A clock face is numbered from one to twelve for the hours. The time span from noon to midnight is twelve hours; from midnight to noon there are twelve more hours. Each day is two times twelve, or twenty-four hours long.
We buy eggs by the dozen, which means twelve at once. Sometimes we buy other things by the dozen. The stores sell different things by the dozen. In a store you may have seen a dozen pencils held together by a paper wrapping or a dozen oranges in a sack. Stores also buy things in lots of twelve dozens, or by the gross（罗，12 打） . One gross consists of twelve dozens, or one hundred and forty-four items.
1.An outside cover is a _______.
A. bag B. sack C. number D. wrapping
2._______ means a space of time.
A. Span B. Gross C. Room D. Canlender
3.A foot-long ruler has _______ inches.
A. six B. twelve C. twenty-four D. thirty-six
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的七个答案中选出五个填入空白处。选项中有两个为多余选项。
There is one thing that everyone wants more than anything else. 1. They think that when they have enough money to buy such things as houses, farms, and cars, they will have the one thing that everyone wants.
Other people believe that if they know enough they will find this thing. 2. Still others think that if they have power, they will find this thing. Some people keep telling themselves,” When I am a boss, I will no longer have to search for this thing.”
“What’s it that everyone wants more than anything else? What’s it that all of us keep working and struggling for each day? 3.
Happiness is a strange thing. 4. What will make one man happy may not make another man happy. Some men say that happiness comes from helping others; other men say that happiness comes from making life more pleasant for everyone. What do you mean when you say “That makes me happy.”
5. Perhaps you will learn something that will bring you peace of mind, comfort, money or it may be what you search for—happiness.
A. It is happiness.
B. It does not mean the same to all men.
C. They study all their life in search of it.
D. Happiness means the same to everyone.
E. Some people try to get it by making money.
F. Read what different people have said about happiness.
G. When one man feels happy, another man will feel sad.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
完形填空
It happened to me several years ago when I was with my parents and sister on _________ on a farm close to Medellin. We were in a car, and it was 2:00 in the morning. We came across a car _________
As is known to all, it is _________ in some places in Colombia to stop and help strangers because it can be risky (危险的)；you can be _________ . Actually, I have heard of so many _________ in which people have been robbed just because they stopped and tried to help people who _________ to need help from the passers-by.
_________ , we didn't know whether to stop or not ; but in the end , _________ , we decided to do it. They had really had a car accident and some of them were _________ . We took them to the hospital. They were really _________ , and we also felt very good about helping them.
I remember the next day when we 51 my grandfathers and uncles about that, they said we shouldn’t have _________ because it was too dangerous. They thought we were _________ because we were able to tell the _________ and still take a vacation on the farm. They _________ us never to do that again.
I think it was risky, but it was worth taking the _________ . Otherwise, we would always have _________ if it was real. Also, if we hadn’t helped them, who knows what would have _________to them.
I believe that one of the reasons why we made up our mind _________ to stop was the fact that we were four people in the car. Maybe if I had been by myself_________I wouldn’t have stopped.
1.A. duty B. time C. show D. vacation
2.A. robbery B. accident C. trade D. race
3.A. convenient B. dangerous C. kind D. difficult
4.A. robbed B. praised C. appreciated D. punished
5.A. passers-by B. cars C. cases D. problems
6.A. refused B. offered C. pretended D. decided
7.A. However B. So C. Otherwise D. Yet
8.A. unluckily B. unwillingly C. unexpectedly D.luckily
9.A.caught B.wounded C. killed D. injured
10.A.thankful B. risky C. peaceful D. frightened
11.A.told B. spoke C. informed D. reminded
12.A.survived B. stopped C. driven D. run
13.A.brave B. kind C. lucky D. stubborn
14.A message B. report C. joke D. story
15.A. advised B. suggested C. persuaded D. forced
16.A. advice B. trouble C. risk D. trip
17.A. wandered B. wondered C. remembered D.regretted
18.A. happened B. faced C. meant D. given
19.A. brains B. decisions C. intentions D. minds
20.A. in the future B. at that time C. at times D. time and again
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
语法填空
Jack and I went fishing yesterday morning. Jack
kept on catching fish, but I just sat there waiting ______1._____some fish to bite my line. After 2.______ had caught five fish, I only caught a small fish. 3.L____ at my fish, I didn’t feel4. _______(舒服). But later on, I finally felt a fish was biting my line. I5. t______ that it was going to be a big fish for I had a hard6. t_____ bringing it up. Finally it turned out to be an old 7.________(鞋)，which was pretty funny. Both of us began to laugh 8.l_____. Before we went home, I only caught two fish9. _______ Jack had nine fish. Although we were10. ________(疲倦) out, we felt very happy.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错
短文中共有10处语言错误，请把它们找出来，并改正过来。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（ ＾）,并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼ ）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
Mary was an university student. She didn’t have much money and her parents were not rich, but she had an uncle who had been luck enough to collect great wealth. He always gave her valuable Christmas and birthday present .When her uncle’s birthday came round, Mary want to buy him something real special , but because he was so rich, she did not know how to get him. She went into the best shop in her town and explained that what her problem was to one of the helpful shop assistant. Finally she asked, “What do you have for someone has already got everything he wants or needs?” The girl sighed deep and answered, “Envy(忌妒), only envy.”
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
书面表达
最近，你班将举行以“How to live a healthy lifestyle”为题的英语班会，请你准备一篇100词左右的演讲稿，谈谈在日常生活中我们应该怎样养成健康的生活方式。
难度: 中等查看答案及解析